Community bid for Leeds pub to be discussed at meeting

A PROPOSED £350,000 community buy-out of one the oldest pubs in Leeds will be discussed at a public meeting later this month.

Campaigners are seeking to buy the historic Cardigan Arms pub on Kirkstall Road after it was put on the market by current owners Greene King.

Not-for-profit comunity organisation The Cardigan Arms Communities Pub Ltd has been set up and a share issue is due to be launched in April.

And the group is applying for £150,000 towards the scheme from the Plunkett Foundation, which supports communities to set up and run community co-operatives.

The public meeting will be held at the Cardigan Arms from 7.30pm on January 18. The Cardigan Arms, which dates back to the 18th century, is one of the UK’s top 250 heritage pubs and retains many of its original features.

Campaigner Chris Hill said: “It is a significant Leeds pub. We just think a community pub is the best way of breathing life into it. We want a real ale pub at night with non alcohol community activities in the day.”